Dine'n'Dash
by Autumn Dragon
Summary: [Crossroad] A look into the three year relationship of Akai and his [ex]girlfriend. How it began, the obstacles they endured, and how it ended. Maybe Akai isn't that cold after all? Maybe he just needs help growing up. [Akai P.O.V.] [oneshot]


A/N: This is a one-shot for a manga series, that's a personal favorite of mine, called Crossroad by Shioko Mizuki.

It has a plot that revolves around an underage abandoned "motherly" gold-digger, orphans, a love story between step-brother and step-sister (although not related by blood), and teenage delinquents striving to create a happy home for themselves! (Plus the step-sister has a relationship going on with her hot calligraphy teacher.)

I HIGHLY RECOMMEND IT! It's really good! So, I've decided to write a one-shot about it. It's about the teacher and his ex-girlfriend. (They're broken up in the manga, and she's never introduced.)

-----

One. 

She and I met at a diner. It was about eleven o'clock at night and I was there due to my unbearable craving for okonomiyaki. She just happened to be there 'cause she had nothing else to do that night.

When I first walked in, I was a little surprised to see that most of the booths were occupied, along with most of the barstools. 'Drunken bastards,' was what I thought of them all, just sitting there and drinking whatever the lone waitress brought them.

The only seat available was a barstool, next to a woman whom, I thought, was very pretty. She was wearing sweatpants along with a puffy jacket (for the unusual cold weather that night, I assumed), and a colorful scarf.

As I sat down, I knew she glanced at me from the corner of her eye as she sat there and took a sip of her coffee. She made no response when I accidentally bumped my knee against her own.

Her face, I just noticed, was make-up free and she smelled like peppermint candy canes. Her hair was long but kept up in a ponytail, as if to hold it from unleashing a wave of soft brown locks.

It seemed like she noticed me noticing her, and she made a move to talk to me. "I've never seen you around here before," she said, monotonously. She put down her empty cup and turned her body to face me. "What's a cute guy like you doing out so late? You don't want your mother to worry now, do you?"

I made no response but my face held all my answers. She smirked and looked away. "You know what? That was totally rude of me. I'm sorry."

A slight troubled expression washed over my face, and I told her there was no need to apologize. "I should. It's late and I'm usually in bed by now, so I'm not like myself at this point"—she pinched her thumb and index finger together—"well, maybe just a little," she ended before flashing me a toothy smile.

I smiled back at her.

A few minutes later, she asked the busy waitress for the check but she told her not to worry about it. "Go home, honey," she said. "I got it taken care of."

"Thanks, Diane," she exclaimed after the waitress, whom had walked away. Then, she got up, stretched her legs and proceeded to walk out the door and out of my life. But what I didn't know was that, her next move would prevent her from doing so.

This mystery woman just barely touched the door handle when she came back towards me. She extended her hand and told me her name. It was Misa.

"Just call me Akai." I took her hand and let go, only to feel the smooth and soft exterior of a torn piece of a napkin. Stunned, I looked up to ask her what the hell this was but she wasn't there. I glanced out the window to see her already in her car.

I gave up and read the scribbled words in the corner.

_090-753-8891 – call me some time._

Misa Misuki

Two. 

Misa and I ended up going out the following weekend. We watched a movie and went out to eat. I have to admit: I wasn't bored, and it kept me away from the stress of my work.

Throughout the day, she smiled and laughed. Especially at me, when I jumped at the scary parts in the movie. Misa wasn't scared at all.

Before we parted, we sat down on the sidewalk and she took out a carton of cigarettes from her purse. "Got a light?" she asked me, holding the cig between her fingers.

I took out my lighter and lit the cigarette for her. "Thanks."

"No problem," I replied.

She blew out smoke between her lips before offering me one. I took it and, together, we enjoyed the essence of damaging our health.

After we finished, I walked her to the steps of her house. "Today was okay, Akai-san. Thanks for taking me out."

_You insisted it_.

"You're welcome," I said, easily. Before I knew it, Misa leaned in for a kiss. She tasted like smoked strawberries.

I found it to be strangely delicious.

She took her lips away from mine but she still clung to me. "I'm free tomorrow," she announced.

I thought about it and I knew what she was thinking. Actually, what both of us should of already knew. This would be just a fling, so we might as well make the most of it.

I needed a little fun in my life.

Three. 

I never thought it would actually be this serious.

Sometimes, I just can't stop thinking about her. I can't wait for her call—to hear her voice. And, when I'm with her, I never want to go away.

I know she felt the same way. I could hear it in her voice over the phone, when she told me she missed me or complained how her job at the office was taking up too much of her time.

She already told me she felt more than she wanted to. And I told her the same thing.

A few days ago was a year after I met her. We went back to that small diner and shared a chocolate shake. (She ended up drinking most of it—I don't have much of a taste for sweets.)

And tomorrow would be a year after we first went out; for her gift, I'm going to give her a copy of the key to my apartment. If I know her well, she'll be living there within a week.

I never wanted it to be this serious.

Four. 

Misa has the loudest and most screeching screams ever, I noticed. I guess she must have seen the cat? Most likely.

She probably screamed when she realized that it ruined her favorite pair of jeans. Oops.

"Yuuji!" she yelled from the kitchen. I responded a casual 'hmm' from my place on our futon. I pretended to be very interested in the calligraphy book I was concentrating on. "What the hell is _that_ doing in the kitchen? And on the counter, no less!"

I looked up to see her angry and pointing at the black stray I had found earlier that day. "Oh Misa, shut up. It's just sitting there." She glared at me. I guess she hasn't gotten used to the fact that whenever I find a stray cat, I take it home for a few days.

I turned my attention back to my book. "If it bothers you that much, I'll drop Tiger at my parent's in the morning—"

"You named it? Once you start—"

"—so just hang tight until then."

"—naming things, you get attached, Yuuji!" She screamed and I screamed back for her to shut up.

"I guess I should just start calling you 'girl' then, huh?" That was an insensitive thing to say. I immediately regretted it.

Misa stormed out and I flinched when she pulled the door shut. _I'll give her ten minutes_, I thought as I sighed. I put the book down and took of my glasses.

I might as well get some sleep, I decided.

Five. 

Right now, at this exact moment, I was scared shitless. I did not know what to do.

Earlier, Misa called me up and told me to come home right now. She sounded upset, but ever so demanding. I had Toma teach the last half of my calligraphy class. (Hopefully the idiot doesn't get into trouble for flirting with students. Again.)

I opened the door to our apartment and I found Misa cooking dinner. Or, at least, _trying_ to. She's a terrible cook. But, I've always had a thing for girls in the kitchen and, I have to admit, it kinda turned me on.

She heard the door close and she stopped what she was doing, and ran to me. As she clung to my body, I felt hot moisture in the crook of my neck.

Was Misa crying?

This can't be happening, she said over and over. But what can't be happening?

She was starting to worry me, but I just continued to hold her until she finally calmed down. "I'm late," she told me. Immediately, I froze.

"What do you mean?" I asked, stupidly. I hoped she wasn't talking about what I was thinking.

"My period," she confirmed. "I'm two weeks late."

I continued to hold her, as I stayed silent. What's going to happen? She's not pregnant, is she? We've always been careful. How could this have happened? I didn't know what to say. I wasn't upset nor was I jumping for joy at the possibility.

She suggested going to the clinic tomorrow, to find out the truth. She made an appointment earlier that day.

---

"You're screwed, man," Toma told me, over the phone. I could hear my class ask what was wrong on the other side of the line. _Is Akai-sensei okay? What's happened? Is he in trouble?_ Toma quieted them down with his cheerful answer, "_He's going to be a daddy!_"

Hearing the class whistle and clap and yell their congratulations, I felt the very corners of my mouth rise up.  
---

As it turned out, Misa wasn't pregnant. It was a false alarm thanks to stress.

Honestly, I don't know what disappointed me more: seeing Misa smile at the news, or me feeling a little bit upset.

Six. 

How did it end up like this?

Yeah, we fought and screamed at each other, but we always gave in at the end, didn't we? She made me happy, and I made her happy.

Then how did it end up like this? Misa yelling at me, screaming at me? And me screaming back?

After three years, why did it have to end _this way_?

"Why don't you just leave already?" She screamed at the top of her lungs. She and I were on opposite sides of the apartment. (She in the kitchen, and I near the bathroom.) "Why don't you just go to fucking China and study your fucking calligraphy, if it means that fucking much to you!"

"You know what? I think I will, Misa! And there's nothing you can do to stop me!"

She had tears in her eyes now. "Stop being so selfish, Yuuji! I don't need you! I never did!"

I was mad now. More mad than I have ever been in my life. So what if I wanted to study calligraphy abroad in China? So what if I'd been gone for a few years? I told her she could come with me, so that we'd be together. Does that make me selfish?

"Me? Selfish?" I thought I could see red. "You're the one who doesn't care anymore! It's always about what you want; it's never about me! I'm the one who doesn't need _you_ anymore!"

"Well you know what, Yuuji!" She exclaimed with so much power in her delicate voice. "I don't _want_ you anymore!" It was an ugly, ugly sentence.

I didn't respond. I only looked at her and I could see the hurt in her eyes. I could tell she didn't mean it and she wanted to take it back, by the way she was biting her lip.

But she didn't.

And that was enough for me.

Seven. 

Misa stayed with a friend that night. And the next. And the next. Then, she moved out, altogether, the next week. We didn't say one word to each other after our argument. She moved out without my presence and snuck in to get her stuff when I wasn't home.

After I came home one day, there was no trace of her left. It almost seemed like she was never there. Later, I found that she left her copy of the key in a sealed envelope on my futon.

I have to admit: I liked her, and I wasn't bored with her, plus I missed her. Well, in the first place, I never actually wanted it to be this serious and to reach this far.

"It's your own fault, you know, " Toma told me, the night he stayed over. (He was there to help me 'drink away' my problems.) "You fell for her."

I lit a cigarette and blew smoke in his face. "Yeah, Toma," I replied, softly. "I guess I did." 


End file.
